IPL 5: McCullum wicket is key, says Vettori

Bangalore, Apr 10: Containing big-hitting Brendon McCullum and the best utilisation of his key spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is what Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Daniel Vettori is thinking ahead of their IPL clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, on Tuesday.

"I know how destructive he (McCullum) can be and how he can take the game away from us quickly. He is incredibly dangerous and good player so we are going to stop him at top of the order. We did that last year when he played for Kochi. Hopeful we will do the same this year," Vettori told reporters at pre-match press conference here.

Apart from strategising to stop McCullum, Vettori is focussed getting a right combination for every game to forge ahead in this year's IPL.

He is excited to bowl in tandem with Muralitharan to take take wickets.

"Murali is the best bowlers of all time. He is a wicket taker and a strike bowler. So it is important that both of us ball in tandem. Murali is the best guy to throw the ball to when you need a wicket," he said.

From captaincy perspective, Vettori said it is quite exciting to have Muralitharan in the side as it makes the job a lot easier.

"I was fortunate enough to play with Murali in the world series game a few years back. There I got a chance to know how good he was," he added.

Moreover, the team needs bowlers who have skills to take wickets as the wicket at the Chinnaswamy stadium was still good to bat on, Vettori said.

Replying to a question, Vettori said the team was pretty confident of dashing West Indian batsman Chris Gayle playing tomorrow.

"He is running and batting whole time so we are confident he will be in the side tomorrow," he added.

With the inclusion of Gayle in the team, Vettori has a good problem of choosing from plenty of overseas players in the side.

"Andrew (McDonald) performed so well in the last game. There will be pressure on all the overseas players to keep performing. As a captain myself it is my responsibility to get the right balance every game.

"It is a good thing that the overseas players need to perform otherwise guys waiting in the wings would get the responsibility to perform," Vettori said.

Tillakaratne Dilshan is another player who is going to put pressure on four overseas players who played the last encounter against Delhi Daredevils.

"It is great to pick from the plenty available including Luke Pomersbach. Dirk Nannes is coming back. So there is lot to choose from," he said.